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Suarez plays down alleged biting incident

Uruguay forward Luis Suarez made light of the incident with Giorgio Chiellini that landed him at the centre of another biting controversy.

Published

25 June 2014

The South American nation secured a battling 1-0 win over Italy to snatch second place in Group D at the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, behind surprise package Costa Rica, as they set up a last-16 class with in-form Colombia.

But Liverpool star Suarez found himself in the all-too-familiar position of being under disciplinary scrutiny after appearing to bite Juventus defender Chiellini amid a tangle with his opponent late in the contest.

The 27-year-old has twice previously received lengthy bans at club level for biting.

He first bit PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal during his time in Holland with Ajax in 2010, and he then sunk his teeth into Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League match last year.

After Tuesday's game, Chiellini claimed referee Marco Rodriguez saw the bite marks on his shoulder and urged FIFA to take action against Suarez, although the man at the centre of the flashpoint said he made no more than "contact with his shoulder" and suggested such on-field confrontations are nothing unusual.

When asked by reporters about the alleged bite, he said: "What did you see? You saw this, really? You need to show me because I didn't see anything.

"Did you see it today or did you see what happened in other years. You couldn't have seen it today because nothing happened.

"The worst of everything is the attitude of Chiellini."

Italy manager Cesare Prandelli, who announced he would stand down after a game that saw his team eliminated from the World Cup amid a red card for influential midfielder Claudio Marchisio, gave a more understated assessment of events.

"I didn't see the images of Suarez but I did see the bite marks in Chiellini's shoulder," Prandelli said. "It is a shame, a real shame. The assistants of the referee were so busy, they didn't see anything."

Uruguay lost their opening game of the tournament 3-1 to Costa Rica, with Suarez unavailable as he completed his recovery from knee surgery.

Oscar Tabarez's team take on Colombia on Saturday with their talisman's participation thrown into doubt once more.